THE view from the back of the dusty car park outside the Sardar Patel Stadium was clearly not to Michael Atherton’s liking.

The foot holes on the pitch were churning up by lunch on the first day and Tim Bresnan was bowling like a county trundler, he informed those who had set their alarm clocks for 3.30am yesterday.

Atherton’s long take on proceedings at the first Test was about as close as Sky’s cameras got to the action because of their dispute with the Board of Control for Cricket over what they considered unreasonable demands for a further £500,000 for the use of such things as chairs in the commentary box and a drinks dispenser.

So, for the first time in 22 years of ground-breaking coverage of England cricket tours, Sky are commentating on a series from their studios in Isleworth, west London, 5,000 miles from the action, talking over pictures beamed in by the Indian broadcasters.

Nothing flusters David Gower, of course, but he did bestow Athers with the air of a Graham Greene character when he solemnly introduced him as “Our Man in India”.

Our colleagues out in India...push the red button if you want to listen to them

Nasser Hussain

Atherton is closer to the action because of his newspaper work, but for the rest of the team – Gower, Ian Botham, Nasser Hussain, David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd and Nick Knight – it was a case of distance making the heart grow fonder.

When the Indian cameras panned in on Ravi Shastri and Paul Collingwood in the commentary box at the ground, Hussain felt obliged to tell viewers: “Our colleagues out in India...push the red button if you want to listen to them.”

Few did. Despite the drawbacks of covering the series by remote control, the Sky team still provided their familiar mix of matey, informative entertainment.

Bumble was in his element when play was held up for the groundsman to repair a bowler’s foot hole. “Bring a shovel, man,” he cried. “More shovels. A brush. A bigger brush...”

Day one over – and the bonus is the Sky hotel is just a short rickshaw ride away.